[Daniel Recktenwald]

Hey, Chris!

Your "To a Defender of Poetic Tradition" made me laugh, hiss and call "burn!" again and again.

The poem itself indicts "page poets" for one of my most frequent "criminal" complaints: the fucking absence of humor. (I should say "many," or "so many," are humorless-- your poem's bitch-slap against over-generalization is a note I need to take, too.)

I haven't read the anti-slam article yet. I'll come back for it. (I have to brace myself for an attack of helpless acrimony.)

Thanks for adding to this thread. My two cents for the day:

What I cleave to about my hometown slam (shout-out, Maxwell Mitchell and Mr. Spreadlove https://www.facebook.com/events/3392...54719038447526) is likely true of all slams: the poets' clear concern for audience, for ears and the in-built audience response. Silence means two very different things at a slam as opposed to a "literary" reading, or open mic sponsored by the Poetry Cartel.

And oh yeah: effing racism / boojie classism. Those repugnant creatures lurk in every "broad brush" dismissal of slams and slam poetry / spoken word I've ever heard.

Thanks again, man. The poem we've talked about made my day. I really appreciate the laughs, and the thoughts. (I can easily imagine future conversations in which I could just say, 'Read this,' hand off this poem. So thanks for the breath and diastolic BP points saved, too.) I'll return for the other poem and I'll visit your site.

Hope to see you around the 'Sphere, too.

Best regards,
Daniel